- RI lawmakers drop support after saying they were misled by HSUS.
Published by NAWA News Feed in -Legislation- · Wednesday 06 Mar 2019
RI lawmakers drop support after saying they were misled by HSUS
Rhode Island, SB 167 which would have prohibited the use of wild or exotic animals in traveling animal acts , and others, has just experienced a turn of events. In a release to his peers, Dr. Jeremy Goodman, Executive Director, Rhode Island Zoological Society stated :
“...the Rhode Island bill is going nowhere. After we, along with RI Audubon and others expressed outrage, one of the co-sponsors withdrew his name from it, another didn’t realize the implications and apologized and said she would not move it forward.
The bill’s sponsor also apologized and said she would not push it forward and explained she was asked by a constituent (who happens to be a HSUS supporter) to submit the bill and that it sounded like a good thing to do at the time.
I applaud ZAA for calling out HSUS and PETA for their ulterior motives in pushing for bills such as this. It was our experience here that all of the legislators believed that this was about animal welfare and they all were surprised to hear all of our objections. Hopefully the next time HSUS or another group approaches them, they will call the local experts before introducing a bill.”
It would appear that the old known tactic used by HSUS to pitch their legislation under the disguise of animal welfare is finally being exposed and heard by lawmakers. Many other related bills have been filed in other states such as Illinois, California, Texas, and others. The Illinois bill, (HB 2554) seems to have run into the same scenario this week as it was set for a committee hearing, but after a massive showing of opposition, the Committee Chair pulled it from the hearing. However this shifts the attention back in the other Illinois bill SB 154 which is still active.
Animal professionals now have their attention on the California and Texas bills, among others that are also seeing a tremendous opposition alignment, and one focal point is educating lawmakers just how easy it is to be duped by organizations like HSUS and PETA. The Rhode Island lawmakers have certainly set a precedent for other states to be aware of.
